This biography of John Jervis, who became Admiral Lord Vincent, makes compelling reading. It throws an oblique light on Nelson&#8242;s personality. St Vincent, who was born twenty-three years before Nelson, and survived for eighteen years after Trafalgar, fundamentally influenced the younger man&#8242;s career despite the two men being diametrically different characters. Yet without him, Nelson&#8242;s genius might have been submerged by professional jealousy or emotional fragility.It was St Vincent&#8242;s strategy and preparation which positioned Nelson to win his three famous victories, but St Vincent himself made vital contributions not only to the defeat of Napoleon but to the well-being of the Royal Navy. Before he became First Lord of the Admiralty, the Navy had been severely weakened by corruption in the dockyards, nepotism in appointments and the appalling conditions under which the seamen lived and worked. St Vincent deserves the profound gratitude of the Nation; not only for enabling Nelson to exercise his tactical brilliance, but also for the role he played in preventing Napoleon from invading the British Isles.

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About James D G Davidson

James D G Davidson OBE, MVO, FRAGS served in the Royal Navy from 1944 to 1955 on the battleships HMS Anson and Vanguard. He held the position of Assistant Naval Attach in Moscow from1952 to 54 when he moved to farm in Aberdeenshire and became Liberal MP for West Aberdeenshire and spokesman on Foreign Affairs and Defence from 1966 to 1970 when he retired.